In Orange, Massachusetts, a man originally from England is counting the days before he gets a surgery that is expected to greatly improve his life. But it may or may not happen before he has to leave the country. How he got to western Mass., is a story of abuse, celebrity and Skype.

An overflow crowd at Greenfield Community College packed a conference on opiate abuse and addiction in western Massachusetts Monday. The gathering included several calls for new state funding for addiction treatment.